“Shalin put us at ease right from the start, from the first conversation we instantly connected. She had us thinking about questions we would be asked well beforehand, and we always felt she had our best interests in mind. She offered her unbiased opinion and presented us with the pros and cons of each situation.
Not only did she take amazing care of me (the laboring mama), but she helped my husband to support me better as well. My husband felt a huge weight taken off his shoulders by her presence. We were blown away by her support of our families and even the hospital staff! She earned the respect of the hospital staff by her professionalism and knowing when to step in and when to hold back. With Shalin’s help, we felt well prepared going in and relieved she was with us when things didn’t go according to plan. Shalin was responsive and spent so much time with us at the hospital that she greatly exceeded all expectations. We are so grateful for everything Shalin did for us and will be recommending her to everyone we know.” M.W., October 2018

“I was very happy to have Shalin as my birth doula. Shalin and I had two prenatal visits where we discussed what was important to me for the birth. She always followed up on any questions I had with lots of informative resources which helped me make decisions about my birth preferences.
For the birth, Shalin was an asset to my experience in the following ways:
* I got to the hospital and my labor stalled, which was emotionally upsetting for me. Shalin provided invaluable emotional support that helped me maintain a positive mental attitude and focus on the eminent arrival of my son.
* Shalin diplomatically and tactfully acted to temporarily reduce the number of people with me in the labor room. This gave me more privacy and less distractions for getting my labor going again.
* After I established a pattern of active labor, my husband, my mom and Shalin were all present to support me. The contractions became more difficult to tolerate and Shalin guided my mom and my husband to assist me with a variety of comfort measures. Techniques included massage, aromatherapy, mindful breathing, rebozo, and active labor positioning to help the baby move down.
* During the pushing phase, Shalin kept my mom and my husband supplied with ice chips and cold towels to help my stay cool. The ice chips and cold towels were heavenly.
* I was so focused on pushing that I did not care to even look down to see the baby come out. Thanks to Shalin, I have wonderful photos of this, as well as other parts of my labor. I did not have a birth photographer and I am grateful Shalin captured such amazing moments from my son’s birth.
* In addition to all this, Shalin also made sure my mom and my husband were fed and hydrated throughout our many hours in the labor room. They were impressed and grateful for her assistance.
For postpartum support, Shalin visited us a few days after the birth and listened to my concerns about breastfeeding and lack of sleep. Like in our prenatal visits, she followed up later that day with options and resources for us to consider for making it through the transition of being new parents. Shalin also provided us a written birth story which detailed the events leading up to my son’s birth. As a new mom, I was far too busy to write down all of the details myself. The birth story is a wonderful keepsake for sharing with my son when he is older.
My birth experience was a positive one because Shalin was a part of my care team. We are so blessed that Shalin could be a part of our beautiful life experience of becoming a family of three.” L.W, July 2018

“Shalin is an amazing doula and the sweetest person! I had a rough start to this pregnancy with moving and having to find a new doctor and place to deliver and I found Shalin at the perfect time! I interviewed a few other doulas before her and felt like I would have been settling in hiring any of them, but then I met with Shalin and instantly felt comfortable and that we were a good fit. She made me feel so at ease with all my anxieties over delivering somewhere new and with midwives. She was there to text, call or email whenever I needed and was able to attend to all my questions and concerns with encouragement, resources and anything else I needed. During labor, Shalin offered huge emotional help by just being there and talking with me and my husband and encouraging different labor options, positions, etc. She offered physical help and offered my husband assistance when needed but also stayed back when we had it covered. She was able to help take pictures of our birth and during our postpartum visit, gave us a beautiful birth story she wrote composed of notes she had written throughout my labor, that we will truly cherish forever. I will definitely hire her again with any other pregnancies and will refer her to anyone looking for a doula. She truly made my birth experience with our 3rd child one that I will cherish and remember forever. It wouldn’t have been the same without her!” ~K.B., May 2018

“When my wife and I first realized that she was pregnant with our first baby, we knew that we needed the support and guidance of a doula. Lucky for us, we found Shalin! Even during our first meeting her confidence and calm energy helped to sooth our first time parent jitters. Once we began working with her we found her always available to answer any questions that we had and also able to distill down all of the information out there to digestible size. She kept ahead of all of our prenatal visits, helped us prepare for what to expect, and checked in on us afterwards. During contractions we worked closely with her to decide the correct time to head to the hospital. Long story short, she beat us to the hospital (at 1:45 am) and my wife was at 6cm when we arrived and baby came about 4 hours later! I was most appreciative of Shalin during the labor. She was there to assure us that everything was normal, help to keep my wife comfortable, and communicate our wishes and birth plan with the hospital staff so that I could focus on my wife and not miss anything. She somehow managed to be an integral part of our birth experience while operating in the background. She gave us the space for this to be our time and our experience but was also there as a backstop when we needed her. I would recommend that anyone considering using a doula contact her and see for themselves. Thanks Shalin!” ~M.C., April 2018

“I had contacted Shalin because of a horrendous previous birth experience I’d had with my first child. The moment my husband and I met with her, we had a great feeling that she would help bring our son into this world as peaceful as possible. And she did. She was amazing my entire pregnancy. She was able to help with my pain and anxiety and during the birth she was a lifesaver to both myself and my husband. I would love to have her with us again if we ever had another child. She is a very kindhearted and wonderful woman.” ~S.B.,  March 2018

“Our friends mentioned to us when we were 25 weeks pregnant that they had doula and it was one of the best experiences for their birth. So as we started to look into it having a birth Coach (as I liked to refer to them) we heard more and more good things. Both my wife and I can look back now and agree that having Shalin as our doula was one of the best decisions we made about the entire birth experience. I have to say that as a husband I was slightly skeptical that a Doula might replace me and be more helpful in the process than I could be. This was not the case at all! From the start, Shalin was a warm and comfortable person to have around. She was easy to talk to and we knew from the start that the three of us would make a great team. Indeed this was the case, Shalin was a pleasure to have by our side in such an intimate environment. I highly recommend Shalin to anyone looking for a doula and cannot say enough about how she helped create a transformative birth experience.” -S.S., January 2018

“We interviewed many Doula’s and Shalin was by far the best option for us. She is professional, yet personal. Gentle, yet strong. Wise, yet always willing to learn. As much as the physical work of labor would be on me, my husband was very much an equal partner in the brith of our baby. Shalin was the only Doula interviewed to ask my husband how the pregnancy was going for him and what he expected of the birthing process. This equal balance of my husband and I was kept through her whole time with us. Shalin challenged us to admit any fears we had going into birth, along with the things we were excited about. The mental preparation she guided us through was invaluable. Shalin didn’t assume that since we were hiring a Doula that that meant we wanted a certain birth – instead she went in with no assumptions and learned our desires and wishes with advice along the way. The day of our labor, her help was more than we could have ever asked for – from helping me labor physically to mentally helping me navigate the pain during my unmedicated vaginal birth. Shalin and my husband were a team, taking care of my every need – all I had to think about was being in the present moment and delivering our healthy baby boy. I’d unquestionably have Shalin as our doula for our next baby!” -B.S., January 2018

“Highly recommend Shalin’s service! I’m a first time mom. There are so many questions and concerns, and all together, the unknowns! Shalin has been a great deal of help! With her wealth of knowledge and kindness. I have all my questions discussed, answered and things I wasn’t aware brought to my attention. And whenever I need help, she’s there! My hubby and I feel very much supported on our new parent journey. I’m so glad that I found Shalin!” -M.W., November 2017